Cruise ships set to house 12,000 fans at Qatar 2022

Qatar Tourism Authority reveals additional plans for the football World Cup

22 Apr 2015 09:44 GMT

The final of the 2022 World Cup will be held on December 18 [Reuters]

Qatar plans to accomodate some 12,000 football fans on cruise ships during the World Cup in 2022, according to the Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA).

The proposal for 'floating hotels' is a revival of an idea which was initially rejected two years ago.

QTA will be contracting a minimum of 6,000 rooms on cruise ships for 2022 tournament

QTA statement

However, Qatar is now seeking to strengthen its presence in the cruise ship market and the idea to house fans during the tournament has been re-floated.

The QTA announced the proposals at a trade conference in the US over the weekend.

"Over the past few years, QTA established a number of strong relationships with international cruise operators as well as with other specialists involved in the industry," the QTA said In a statement on the official Qatar News Agency.

"This has proved to be of great importance especially that Qatar will be extensively benefiting from cruise ships over the 2022 World Cup, as a means of providing additional accommodation supply for fans and visitors over the period.

"QTA will be contracting a minimum of 6,000 rooms on cruise ships for 2022 tournament."

A spokesman for the authority confirmed on Monday that this equated to space for 12,000 fans.

It is not yet clear where the cruise ships will be docked but as part of Qatar's $200bn capital spending project, ahead of football's most prestigious tournament, the country is building a new port south of the capital, Doha.

FIFA guidelines say Qatar must have 60,000 rooms available for fans by 2022.